Fall protection equipment is commonly utilized to prevent injuries to workers who climb poles to install and repair telephone equipment and the like. Such fall protection equipment typically includes a safety harness donned by the worker and fall protection equipment, such as a pole choker assembly, connecting the safety harness and the pole. The fall protection equipment allows the worker to climb up and down the pole while preventing the worker from falling to the ground should a fall event occur. A carabiner is commonly used with fall protection equipment, and the carabiner includes protrusions configured and arranged to engage the pole should a fall event occur. The carabiner also includes a gate with a locking mechanism. An example of a locking mechanism is one that requires the user to push down, twist, and pull back on the gate to open the gate. Sometimes, however, the gate portion of the carabiner is inadvertently opened during use and this could put the user at risk. Therefore, it is desired to provide a carabiner with a locking mechanism to prevent the gate portion from inadvertently opening during use.
For the reasons stated above and for other reasons stated below, which will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the present specification, there is a need in the art for a locking carabiner.